Steam pressure governor



y 1934. F. L. BADGETT STEAM PRESSURE GOVERNOR Filed April 4, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 &

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WITNE SS' ATTORN EY July 10, 1934. I F, L. BADGETT 1,966,372

STEAM PRESSURE GOVERNOR Filed April 4, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7" 4% Z nedj.3azd ,cx'eceas d 21%;? MM/ "U a-22 5 mgfiiwwmiw ATTORNEY Patented July 10, 1934 T oFrl-cr.

STEAM PRESSURE GOVERNOR Fred L. Badgett, deceased, late of Chic kasha,

011121., by Billie B. Badgett, administratrix Chickasha, Okla.

Application April 4, 1932, Serial No. 603,119

1 Claim,

6 Apr. 30, 1929, of which the present application is a continuation in part.

.An object of the invention is the provision of a governor for steam boilers which are fired by. gaseous fuel, a fuel valve being employed in the fuelsupply pipe which is moved to open position by a spring when the diaphragm of a governor is temporarily disconnected from its operative relation with'the valve, the diaphragm being actuated in the opposite direction by a (inferential pressure between the steam pressure in the boiler and an air pressure acting. upon the other side of the diaphragm, water being employed in connection with the diaphragm and acting as a seal to prevent the loss of fluid from the elements enclosing the diaphragm.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a governor having a diaphragm dividing a restricted chamber into two compartments, one compartment being in direct communication with a steam boiler and the other compartment being in direct communication with a container partially filled with water, the remaining space being filled with air under such a. pressure that it will counterbalance a predetermined pressure of steam desired in the boiler, the other compartment being connected with the steam boiler so that the diaphragm is influenced at one side by the steam pressure and by the air pressure at the other side, a pipe connecting the steam pressure compartment andlikewise the boiler'with the container temporarilyv in order to supply water formed from the condensing of the steam to the container ,while raising the pressure of the'air to equal the normal working pressure of the steam, the air in the container forcing Water in direct contact with the lower side of the diaphragm, a valve being included in the pipe for cutting off communication between the container and the steam pressure compartment after the pressure in the container has been raised to balance the pressure of the normal working steam. v j

- Thisinvention willbe best, understood from a consideration oi the following detailed description, in view of the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification;nevertheless, it isto be'understood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure.- being susceptible of such changes and modifications which shall define no material departure from the salient fea- 'tures of the invention as expressed in the ap pended claim. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal side View in elevation of a governor constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the governor, and Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 33 of Figure 2, and v Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the free ends of a pair of levers. I

Referring more particularly to thedrawings, 10 designates asupporting bar or platform to which the various elements are secured to provide aremovable unit. A pipe 11 is supported from the bar 10 and adapted to have one end 12 connected to a'pipe (not shown) for delivering fuel gas to the firebox of a steam boiler (not shown). The other end 13 is connected to a'source of supply.

A valve 14 is adapted to be moved to open positionby a spring 15 at certain times during the operation of the governor, as will be presently explained. 1 I

A container is supported from one endfof the bar 10and this container is adapted to be partially'filled with water, as shown at 21. The con tainer is elongated j and is substantially circular in cross section. T

A pair of 'dish-shaped'plates 22 and 23 are connected together, at 24, adjacent their peripheries and a diaphragm 25 has its peripheral portion rigidly clamped by the bolts 24 between the outer edges of. the dish-shaped members 22' and 23. 'Metalplates 26 are secured to opposite sides of the diaphragm and are adapted to abutlugs or annularribs 27 and 28 respectively located in the compartments .29 and 30 which are formed by the division of the chamber between the dish-shaped members 22 and 23 by the diaphragm 25. It Will be noted that the chamber, and likewise the compartments, are of limited space so that very little movement of the diaphragm 25 is permitted and due to the sensitiveness'of the governor it is only necessary to move the diaphragm slightly in order to control thevalve' 14 as will be presently explained.

A stem 31 is secured at 32 to'the diaphragm and extends through abushing 33 having a passage 34 in communication with a pipe 35.

The lower end of the bushing 33 is'threaded into the upper dish-shaped member 22 and is provided with a shoulder 36 which is in engagement with the bar 10'. A'nut 37 is threaded onto'the outer reduced end of the bushing 33 for securing 1 container 65.

communication with the fuel gas supply by means said bushing to the bar 10. A packing gland 38 is mounted upon the outer end of the bushing 33 and is provided with an axial passage to receive the stem 31.

A pipe 40 is threaded at 41 into the central opening in the cup-shaped member 23 and is provided at its lower end with a cut-out portion 42 to permit the water which is in the container 20 to flow readily through the pipe and fill the compartment 30 under the pressure of the air above the water in the container.

A pipe is connected at 43 with the boiler so that the steam pressure in the boiler is communicated directly to the compartment 29 above the diaphragm 25. A pipe 44 connects the pipe 35 with the pipe 45 which extends above and longitudinally of the container 20 and a pipe 46 places the pipe 45 in communication with the container 20 below the level of the water, as shown at 4'7. A

valve 48 is adapted to control the admission of steam to the container 20 for raising the pressure of the fluids in said container to a desired degree. After the degree of presstu'e desired has been obtained as disclosed by the gauge 51 the valve 48 is closed and remains so until a change in the pressure of the container 20 is required.

A pipe 50 connects the air pressure gauge 51 with the container 20 above the level of the water in said container.

supported by a bridging portion 66 formed at the upper end of a U-shaped bracket 61 which is carried by the bar 10. The lower end of the spring 15 rests upon the bridging portion while the upper end is engaged by a washer 62 retained in place by a nut 63 threaded onto the stem 59.

The construction of a co-operating governor mechanism at the left hand side of the drawing in Fig. 1 is similar to the construction just described except that no water is employed in the This container is placed in direct of a pipe 66 at one side of the valve 14 until the container is filled with gas and a pressure in the container 65, a pipe 6'7 and the compartment formed in a dish-shaped member 68 at the lower side of a diaphragm 69 has reached a degree at which it is desired to operate the burners. The supply of gas from the pipe 11 to the container is controlled by a valve 95 and the pressure of the gas after the valve is closed is fixed and corresponds to the normal working pressure of the gas required to operate the burners efiiciently.

A pipe 71, controlled by a valve '72, connects the pipe 11 at the other side of the valve 14 with the compartment formed in the upper dishshaped member '73 at the upper side of the diaphragm 69, so that when there is a variation of pressure between the gas in the container 65 and the pressure in the gas in the pipe 11 at the other side of the valve 14, and particularly where the excess of pressure is in the container 65, the diaphragm willbe mov -:1 upwardly, permitting the valve 14 to be opened by the spring 15. In

other words, Where a predetermined degree of gas pressure has been passed by the gas from the source and in the container 65, the valve 14 will be closed. The valve 95 when closed maintains a fixed pressure in the container and this pressure remains constant and is only changed when a difierent pressure is required for the burners.

A bracket '75 mounted on an end of the bar 10 pivotally supports, at '76, one end of a lever '77 which is pivotally connected at '78 with an exten sion '79 formed on a stem which is secured to the diaphragm 69. The inner free end 81 of the lever '77 rests upon the upper edge of the V -shaped member 5'? and is located between the prongs of the fork 57 of the lever 52.

A pressure gauge 85 is in communication with the tank 65 and indicates the fixed pressure of the gas in the container that is required to fire the burners.

The dish-shaped members 22-23 and 68-'73 are secured to the bar 10 by a rod 99 and a pair of nuts 91 located upon opposite sides of the bar threaded onto the rod 90.

A valve 92 normally closes the nipple 93 through which air under pressure is adapted to be supplied to the tank 20.

The pipe 433 which is connected to the pipe 45 and extends to the steam boiler has a valve 94 which is adapted to cut oil steam from the boiler to the compartment 29 when desired. The valve 94 is normally retained in an open position.

A valve 95 included in the connections between the pipes 66 and 66 is adapted to cut off the gas to the container 65 from the supply pipe 11 after the fixed pressure desired is obtained in the contai: er. This valve remains closed at all times except when it is necessary to supply gas to said container.

A nipple 9'7 is connected by a pipe 98 with a pipe and a valve 96 normally closes the nipple and prevents the discharge of gas from the container 65 to the atmosphere. The nipple and valve are employed for allowing gas to escape from the container.

The inner walls of the dish-shaped members 22 and 23 and 68 are beveled in a complementary manner to the beveling of the peripheries of the metal plates 26 so that when the diaphragms are moved in opposite directions the beveled edges of the plates will neatly engage the beveled walls of the dish-shaped members and not only aid in limiting the movement of the diaphragms but will act as a seal to prevent loss of fluids past the diaphragm.

The operation of the device is as follows: In starting the steam pressure governor the valve 48 is closed while the valve 92 is opened and air is forced by any approved means into the connection 93 and thence into the container 20 until half the steam pressure to be carried in the boiler is registered by the gauge 51. In other Words if three hundred pounds of steam pressure is to be carried in the boiler it will be necessary to supply the container 20 with air at apressure of one hundred and fifty pounds. The valve 92 is then closed and remains closed at all times. The valve 48 is retained in closed position until approximately one hundred and fifty pounds or more of steam pressure has been raised in the boiler. The hundred and fifty pounds pressure its limit thus set, however, is' used wherethe steam normal degree of the operating pressure of the steam.

It will also be appreciated that it will not be necessary 'to set the regulator each time the boiler is cooled because the pressure in the container remains constant since the valve 48 is closed after a predetermined amount of pressure has been placed in the container. If on the other hand the pressure in the container decreases due to variations in temperature an increase in air pressure may be obtained by supplying air at a greater pressure until the desired pressure is reached.

After a hundred and fifty pounds or more of steam has been raised in the boiler, the valves 48 and 94 are opened so that the steam can enter the chamber 20 through the pipe connections 43, 45 and 46. When, however, the steam has raised the pressure in the container 20 to: the normal working pressure of the steam, the valve 48 is closed and the valve 94 is left open. The steam upon entering the chamber 20 through the length of time required to raise a hundred and fifty pounds to three hundred pounds condenses in the container 20, forming water which will rise through pipe 40 and this water continues to rise to the diaphragm, leaving the water also in pipe 46 and against the valve 48. Thus it will be seen that the diaphragm and the valve 48 will be provided with water-tight connections and thus prevent the loss of air from the container 20 due to the fact that the air, never comes in contact with the diaphragm or the valve 48 during normal working periods of the regulator.

Since there is a pressure of three hundred pounds upon opposite sides of the diaphragm, the lever 52 will remain in an inoperative position or in an elevated position due to the fact that the spring 15 has raised the valve stem 59 and the valve 14 to a partially open position. In other words, the valve 14 is open sufficiently to permit a definite quantity of the fuel gas to pass to the burners and maintain the three hundred pounds steam pressure in the boiler. The regulator arm or lever 52 is adjusted so that the valve stem 59 of valve 14 will be in such a position that when the steam pressure rises above the predetermined degree the diaphragm 25 will be forced downwardly, closing valve 14, thereby stopping the supply of gas to a certain extent in order to maintain the normal steam pressure in the boiler.

The valve 14 is never entirely closed but remains open a sufficient distance to prevent extinguishing the fire at the burners. The steam side of the regulator only operates when the steam has reached beyond a predetermined degree of pressure; otherwise, the diaphragm will be in an upward position at all times when the pressure is below the desired point.

In order to start the operation of the gas side of the regulator, the pressure desired at which the burners are to be operated most economically is determined in advance. When the pressure is known the valve 95 is opened and the gas flows to the container and the gas pressure will register on the gauge 85. A valve 96 is closed and remains closed at all times. This valve is only employed when there has been too much pressure put into the chamber and the opening of the valve releases'such pressure. The valve 72 remains open at all times. After the pressure has been placed in the container 65, the gas side of the regulator is set so that it will-keep a predetermined pressure against the burners through the valve '14. The gas side of the regulator reduces the quantity of gas flowing to the burners when the pressure in the supply line 13 advances above a predetermined point or in the pressure which is disclosed by the gauge connected with the container 65.

What is claimed is:

A governor for steam boilers fired by gaseous fuel comprising a gaseous fuel supply pipe, a fuel regulating valve in the pipe, means for maintaining the valve open, a pair of closed casings, one of the casings being partially filled with water and containing air under pressure, the other casing being connected with the gaseous fuel pipe to one side of the valve, a closed chamber associated with each casing, a diaphragm dividing each chamber into a pair of compartments, a compartment of one chamber being directly connected with the casing containing water and air under pressure, the other compartment being connected with a steam boiler, a compartment of the other chamber being in communication with the casing containing the fuel gas, the other compartment of said chamber being in communication with the fuel supply pipe at the other side .of the valve, and means operatively connecting the valve with the diaphragms for simultaneous and independent operation of the valve by the diaphragm.

BILLIE B. BADGETT. Administratrim of the Estate of Fred L. Badgett,

Deceased. 

